Donor stewardship is a fundraising practice that is essential to relationship building. By thanking and educating donors about their impact, we can help them see how their gift was valuable and (hopefully) retain them for years to come.
When it comes to putting together effective donor stewardship materials, high-quality content is essential. And one of the best types of content to use is stories. Stories have a natural way of showing donors the real-life impacts of their support in an emotionally resonant way.
Let’s talk about why donor stewardship matters, how to use stories in donor stewardship, and what a good donor stewardship story looks like.
Why Fundraising Programs Need Stewardship
Non-profits rely heavily on fundraising from individual donors. But many of those donors aren’t retained year after year. Our sector’s average donor retention rate is between 40% and 45% according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. This means that organizations are losing money from donors they have and they are having to spend more resources acquiring donors to keep up with fundraising needs.
Rather than constantly slog it out trying to find new donors, part of a fundraising strategy can be keeping more donors and that’s where stewardship comes in. The goal of stewardship is to maintain and grow a donor base. Effective stewardship goes beyond simply thanking donors; it involves consistently demonstrating the impact of their contributions, keeping them informed about organizational achievements and challenges, and involving them in the mission-driven activities of the non-profit.
By engaging in thoughtful stewardship practices, such as personalized thank-you notes, donor impact reports, and sharing compelling stories of success, non-profits can build strong connections with their supporters.
Where & How to Use Stories in Donor Stewardship
Leveraging stories can be an incredibly powerful tool to deepen connections and foster long-term relationships with supporters. Beyond the typical thank you letters and annual reports, storytelling adds a human touch that resonates deeply with donors. Imagine receiving a heartfelt email or reading a compelling narrative in a nonprofit’s newsletter that vividly depicts how your contribution has made a tangible impact. These stories not only celebrate donors’ generosity but also demonstrate the real-world change they enable.
Whether it’s a touching anecdote about a child whose life has been transformed or a success story from a community initiative, each narrative serves as a testament of the donors contribution. By integrating stories into donor communications, nonprofits not only show gratitude but also inspire continued support and engagement. It’s about forging a connection and making donors feel like valued partners in a shared mission.
As a fundraising consultant and copywriter, here are the 4 most common types of stories I tell in donor stewardship materials.
- A client’s success story – If your programs and services are benefiting people, sharing a client’s success story is a great opportunity. After all, these are the people who have directly benefited from a donation that made a program possible. Donors will want to hear about positive changes in their lives.
- A program staff member’s story – Personally, I love hearing from program staff members because they have such a fiery passion for their work. And if you have a difficult time collecting stories from clients, staff members might be able to share their accounts of the program.
- A volunteer’s story – These stories are not as common, but I think that volunteers play a vital role in the non-profit sector and they also enrich our communities in many ways. In fact, they are often deeply impacted by the work that they are a part of and their first hand account might be something that your donors could easily relate to.
- A story from a fundraiser who was involved in the project – This might be a less common story, but I think that fundraisers will sometimes have an interesting perspective on what a problem in the community was like prior to there being funding for a program solution. Don’t shy away from giving the fundraising team a voice!
Here’s an example of an email we wrote for Variety BC’s 57th Annual Variety Show of Hearts campaign. Please note the images side-by-side are one email.
To see a version of this email in layout and for easier reading click here.
Donor-Centered Fundraising And Storytelling
Donor-centered fundraising prioritizes cultivating meaningful relationships with supporters by focusing on their interests, values, and impact preferences. Donor-centered fundraising represents a paradigm shift in the approach nonprofits take toward engaging supporters. It emphasizes building genuine relationships with donors based on understanding their motivations, interests, and philanthropic goals.
Rather than viewing donors as mere sources of revenue, this approach recognizes them as integral partners in advancing the organization’s mission. It involves personalized communication that acknowledges past contributions, demonstrates the impact of their donations. By creating a sense of belonging and appreciation, donor-centered fundraising aims to cultivate long-term loyalty and advocacy, ultimately creating a sustainable source for continued support and impact.
Donor-centric storytelling and donor-centered fundraising are about really clearly and explicitly connecting the dots for donors and not leaving it up to them to connect the dots of how or why their donation has helped to make this outcome possible. It’s about being, really clear to people that they were a part of that story and what their role is in the story.
Need some more donor stewardship ideas? Check out the FREE Non-Profit Stewardship Toolkit!
